Monday 29th January 2005
Dear Diary,
Even our need to trim the squad was evident, the transfer window was a little quieter than I thought it might be this time of year.
Michael Smith, a player who’s served us well over the last couple of years since his permanent move from Manchester United, left for Norwich for £1.7m
Club legend Steve Kabba, aka Kabby, went to Stoke for £800k (we’ll miss you buddy), whilst Gary O’ Neil and Joleon Lescott left on loan to get some first team football (although a slightly more versatile Ledley King has returned).
Even though we’ve left ourselves a little thin, I feel like it’s balanced the squad out a little, and given us room to really start putting a consistent first-eleven together, coupled with a new look 4-4-2.
Chelsea’s incredibly talented right full back Glen Johnson comes in on loan, whilst we could haver another future star on our hands in the form of 18 year-old Colin Kazim-Richards, a £300k purchase from Bury.
I was unsure about having a lad on the team called Kazim, but after he told me he was born in Leyton, I figured he could be a acquisition for us for the future.
With Johnson on the right and Leighton Baines on the left, our defense is looking solid on the flanks, and could provide some really good defensive and attacking quality.
As well as a perosnel change in defense, we’re also experimenting with the possibility of pulling our two central midfielders further back and sit in the front of the defense to create 6-2-2 style set up.
We’ve previous been operating two versions of 4-4-2; one Counter-Attacking, and one with a more aggressive approach where we got stuck into our opponents, just like a Vinnie Jones tackle in an F.A. Cup final.
With us 16th in the table – three points clear of Palace and with the season closing in – the destiny is in our hands. But with a run in that includes games against Manchester United, Arsenal, and Liverpool, we need to start racking up the points now; otherwise, just like Bricktop in Snatch, we’re gonna end up proper fucked.
